Ice Chips
Published on February 21, 2015 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release
Battalion Battle Back, but can't Hold off Wolves
Just one night after a 13-0 drubbing which saw Watertown deal the Battalion their first shutout loss in franchise history the two teams met in North Adams. The game would be much more competitive but a late surge by Watertown after Berkshire had tied the game put the Wolves back in the drives seat as they skated to a 7-4 victory. The contest was almost uncharacteristically clean for the two squads as only 2 fighting majors and one minor penalty were assessed during the tilt.
The first period saw the Wolves jump out to an early lead and continue their positive trend from the previous night. Just one minute and one second into the contest Phil Bronner would clap home a goal continuing his scoring streak. Watertown would continue their offensive pressure and 8 minutes later Brent Patry would fire home a goal making the Wolves lead 2-0. Just over a minute later Cody Dion would wrap an innocuous shot on net that would deflect in giving the Wolves 3 unanswered. The Battalion would answer however and just 40 seconds later Tom Tracy would snipe home a goal to make it 3-1 going into the 2nd. Shots in the 1st were 14-8 in favor of the Wolves.
The second period would start slowly but Tyler Howe would take a cross checking minor and fight the Wolves' Matt Wray to spark the energy in the building. The Wolves would quickly deflate that energy when Justin Alonso chipped a puck high over Steve Messina's shoulder to make it a 4-2 game on the power play. Robert Morton would reply again as he stole the puck and streaked in all alone to stuff home a goal making it a 4-2 contest. Watertown outshot Berkshire 12-9 in the period.
The third period would be controlled early by the Battalion who came out firing. Vadim Guskov picked up a rebound and fired it home over Nick Niedert just 33 seconds into the frame to make it a 4-3 game. Just 2 and a half minutes later Guskov's linemate Vlad Gavrik would snipe home a wrist shot over Niedert's shoulder to tie the game up. The Battalion would keep up the pressure but as befitting a 1st place team the Wolves kept their composure and would strike back. Brent Patry would score his 2nd of the game as he came screaming into the high slot and beat Messina. With about 9 minutes left in the period and a one goal lead, the Wolves would capitalize again when Chad Bennett would pick up the puck and flip it over the Berkshire net minder on a goal mouth scramble. The Wolves would weather an offensive explosion from Berkshire, but with time all but expired Justin Alonzo sealed the win with an empty net goal.
Steve Messina would make 27 saves on 33 shots in the loss while Nick Niedert would stop 25 of 29 sent his way.
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Demonz Cool down Danville with 2-1 Victory
(Dayton) The Dayton Demonz faced off against the red hot Danville Dashers Friday night. The Dashers won eight out of their last nine games coming into Friday's match-up. With playoffs looming around the corner and both teams fighting for position, both teams would be fighting for a much needed win.
Danville threw everything that they had at the Demonz in this tilt but would fall to Dayton with a final score of 2-1. Danville and Dayton had many scoring chances but the goaltending of Dan McWhinney and the Demonz scoring on their power play opportunity was the difference in this game.
The opening period would prove to be a physical one. Both teams applied heavy defensive pressure and threw multiple checks into the boards. Neither team generated many quality scoring opportunities but gave up multiple penalties. Both teams failed to take advantage of their power play chances in the first, leaving the game scoreless at the end of the first period.
The Dashers applied heavy offensive pressure early in the second period and ended the scoreless bout with a goal from the stick of Gehrett Sargis. Ahmed Mahfouz tied the game at 1-1 soon after with a wraparound chance that he snuck just by the Dashers net minder. Danville took control of the rest of the second period. The Dashers cycled the puck around the Demonz, allowing them to apply a flurry of shots on net. Dayton kept the score tied at 1-1 at the end of the period thanks to the goaltending of Dan McWhinney and the defense killing key penalties.
Discipline continued to haunt both teams as they started the third period trading penalties with each other. The Dashers poured on the offensive with 39 shots on net but could not find the back of the net. The Demonz would eventually take advantage of a long five minute power play late in the third period thanks to a slap shot from Peter Cintala, ending the game with a final score of 2-1 in favor of the Demonz.
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Whalers Win Big to Snap Losing Streak
DANBURY -- Nine different players scored goals Friday night as the Danbury Whalers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 9-1 victory over the Steel City Warriors at the Danbury Arena. Sean Maktaak, Scott Morongell, Brett Liscomb, Dan Morin, Ian DeLong, Tim Richter, Matt Caranci, Ilya Solarev and Zach Kuta all scored for the Whalers. Solarev and Caranci each added three assists. Goalie Mike Brown stopped 25 of 26 shots in two periods of work, while Kevin Hoy stopped all five shots he faced in the third period. The Whalers are set to host the Watertown Wolves Saturdat at 7:35 p.m. and Sunday at 5:05 p.m.
Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from February 21, 2015
- Ice Chips - FPHL
- Whalers Home Tonight Vs Watertown - Danbury Whalers
- Ice Chips - FPHL
- Demonz WIN - Dayton Demonz
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